Colder Than a Witch's Tit in a Brass Bra

It is so cold. It's so cold that it's actually comfortable in our apartment with the heat on and windows closed. It's so cold that the fountain at Bryant Park has frozen (pic). It's so cold that you can get frostbite in five minutes and hypothermia in thirty if not dressed appropriately says News 7 NY. It's so cold that everything Pup tries to eat off the street is frozen solid. It's so cold that yesterday I was the only person in the laundromat, I guess the only one crazy enough to attempt doing laundry in the freezing cold.

By the way, yesterday was Pup's eighth birthday (56 in dog years!). It was really too cold to take her to a park or pet store so we kept things pretty low key.

It's supposed to snow a bit tonight, a dusting to two inches. I'm honestly a little disappointed we haven't had significant snowfall yet. I mean, I'm not hoping for the blizzard of 2011 again, just enough to play in for a couple days.

Jen has the day off today which we will mostly spend studying and reading, thanks to the weather. There's turkey chili cooking in the crock-pot right now... mmm.

Jen's Crock-pot Turkey Chili
1 lb ground turkey (or beef if you're confident in your heart health lol)
2-3 medium carrots, chopped
2-3 stalks of celery, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 bell pepper
1 28-ounce can crushed tomato
1 can corn
1 can black beans
1 can kidney beans
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp chili powder
salt and pepper
Add ingredients to crock-pot and set cook on low for 6-8 hours. (Set it and forget it!)
Serve with grated cheddar cheese, a dollop of sour cream, and corn bread
(and pre-medicate with Bean-O)

Mind the Gap

"Please stand away from the platform edge, especially as trains are entering and leaving the station," is the audible warning every time we take the subway. There's also an exhausting amount of warnings posted on the platform and inside the train about the dangers of leaning against the doors, the gap between the car and platform, moving from car to car while the train is in motion, and hanging onto the outside of the train when it takes off, an activity termed "subway surfing." Yes, people are that dumb. All these warnings (and common sense) have seemed pointless as the incidents of subway deaths and safety issues have recently increased.

Last night I went to Bourbon Street to say hello to friends and pick up my last paycheck and cash-owed. Good times. The E-train ride home, however, was not. Just one stop from LIC, the conductor announced that we would be experiencing extreme delays due to a broken rail in Queens. Delays are never short and the fact that she used the word "extreme" was all I needed to hear to know I had to find another way home. After making my way up hundreds of feet of escalators, I walked a few blocks west of 3rd Ave to catch the Q32 bus. The traffic was surprisingly light and the bus got me within walking distance of our apartment in about 20 minutes.

Whether they be mental, homeless, or just drunk, we seem to have an abundance of "special" individuals here in NYC. It wouldn't be fair for Jen to be left out of all this fun, so she also got stuck on the subway this week. There was an... interesting situation at a Harlem 4/5/6 train station a few days ago. As you know, Jen works downtown which is (thankfully) a long way from Harlem. But when a death or injury occurs on a train line, it can cause delays on that particular line throughout the entire City until the situation is resolved. NY Magazine details the story below.

Shortly after 4 p.m., the injured mystery-man came climbing up from the tracks to the uptown platform. The man, who the New York Post identified as Manuce Dulcio, 50, had a broken pelvis, a deep cut on his buttocks, and another cut on his leg. He couldn't remember how he'd gotten onto the tracks, or how he was hurt, though cops thought he might have been hit by a train. A source told thePost he was "very intoxicated," which really doesn't come as a big surprise.

Then, a few minutes later, the other man fell off a moving 6-train on which he had been defecating between cars. "The victim, 31, was struck by the 6-train as it was leaving the station," DNAinfo reported, citing NYPD spokesman Paul Browne. "He was pronounced dead at the scene."

But don't worry. You can never be too safe in this crazy city so Jen and I have made a conscious effort to be more careful when heavily intoxicated or defecating between cars.

Trophy Hubby

What's new? Well not too much. As you know I'm done with school, waiting on my temporary license to practice, and doing a lot of studying in the meantime. I get a permanent license after I take the board exam in early April. To get a temp license though, the college must send the necessary documents stating I did graduate to the NY Office of Professions in Albany. There are delays in this whole process (of course!) due to "Super-storm Sandy" forcing the school to close for two weeks during my final semester. I'm turning lemons into lemonade, though, (I must really like lemonade) and using this time to prepare for that scary exam I take in a few months.

As you may also know, I left Bourbon St before the holidays. I have no job, no school, and a pretty wide open schedule. Yes, it is as amazing as it sounds. I've always felt like I must be productive in some way, so I keep myself busy. I'm looking for a job, we're considering moving, I have another round of runway shows in March to prepare for, and a huge priority, the board exam in April. On top of that I have the responsibilities that come with what I refer to as my new title, Trophy Husband.

Now a Trophy Husband is much different than a Trophy Wife. (Yes, official titles are capitalized). Let me tell you, it's no life of luxury. We aren't showing up at corporate luncheons as status symbols or spending the day shopping. We are in the trenches! Grocery shopping and laundry (not small feats in NYC), cleaning house, walking the dog, checking things off the honey-do list, and holding down the house apartment are just a few of the things we do day after day while our wives are at work.

To be honest, it's no walk in the park but I don't hate it either. I can do the things I need to do in the order I prefer. Naturally, Jen likes that I'm around more often and that chores are already done when her days off roll around. So, Jen, it's simple. Just bring home roughly twice as much money and we can keep this charade going. Done.

French Press How-To

I made some coffee using our new french press this Saturday morning. Since I've gotten so many inquiries about how to use one of these, here's an illustration of exactly what I did. The smaller boxes show the four main steps and the large one on the right is just the best part, pouring the perfect cup of coffee :)

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.4

Peters New Do

I went to Chinatown today to get a haircut from my favorite asian, Peter. It was not his best work this afternoon but he's usually consistently good. Probably pissed I didn't send him a Christmas card, ha. I did notice he cut his hair much shorter which could explain the change in quality. (Maybe he's like the Bible's Samson?)

I know I've written it before, Chinatown is an amazing place to take pictures! It's so unique, vibrant, and entertaining, like another country just half an hour by train from home. I took some interesting pics there today and thought I would share with you a slideshow from my Flickr account.

Holidays with the Rexrodes

This video really cracks me up. For example, I noticed much too late that Jen is taking something out of the oven without mits on but a big smile on her face. Oops. lol. The song I used is only about two minutes long which challenged me to use only the best clips. Don't blink, you might miss something! Enjoy.
A VERY REXRODE CHRISTMAS 2012 from Matt Rexrode on Vimeo.